


and we hold on

by ebonynightwriter



Series: Shallura Week 2017 [3]
Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Canon Universe, Dark Sides, Drama, F/M, Hurt / Comfort, Injury, One-Shot, Post-Season/Series 02, Recovery, Shallura Week 2017, This got way more "Avatar State" than originally intended
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-07-04
Updated: 2017-07-04
Packaged: 2018-11-23 12:55:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,409
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11402853
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ebonynightwriter/pseuds/ebonynightwriter
Summary: “It’s not your fault.” // “How do you know?”





	and we hold on

**Author's Note:**

> **A/N:** The prompts are shoved in here pretty painfully but this is probably my favorite fic for this week so far.
> 
> -.-
> 
>  **[shallura week (2017) // day 3](http://ebonynightwriter.tumblr.com/tagged/mine:%20shallura%20week%202017)** · trust / growth
> 
> -.-

“I’m not sure about this, Princess,” Coran says, leaning over a floating holo-screen as Allura draws lines on the training room floor. “There’s still so much we don’t know.”

“Then that is exactly why we must try,” Allura says, not looking up from her work. “If I can learn to utilize these abilities, then we’ll have one more advantage in the fight against Zarkon.”

“Maybe so,” he replies. “But I still think we should—” 

“—I found them!” Pidge says loudly, entering the room with a cloth bundle in her arms. She kneels beside Allura as she reaches them, lifting a fold of the cloth to reveal four small crystals. “They were in the back of the library.”

“Excellent, Pidge,” Allura says, lifting a crystals to the lights. “They look just like the ones in the diagrams.”

She takes the bundle and gets up off the floor, placing each crystal at various points around them. Pidge follows with her eyes.

“Can I stay and watch?” she asks.

“Of course,” Allura replies. “We’re almost ready.”

The Paladin smiles, running from the rune circle to where Coran now stood a few feet away from the door. Hands at his hips, he gives a hefty sigh as Allura sits on the floor, taking on last look at the holo-screen before swiping it away.

“Just…be careful,” he says. 

Allura nods. “I will.”

She settles her hands on her lap, and closes her eyes.

.

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“…”

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“…”

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“…”

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“…”

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“…”

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“…”

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“…”

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“…is something supposed to be happening?”

“Shush!” Coran whispers, flicking Pidge in the head. “She needs to concentrate!”

Allura’s brow pinches, hearing their hurried whispers from across the room. Lifting her head higher toward the ceiling, she breathes in deep and slow, what she’d felt upon that platform in the heart of Zarkon’s ship. Energy and power . . . energy and life . . . 

“Ah, there! You see!” she hears Coran proclaim. “There it is!”

Allura cracks open an eye, amazed to find one of the crystals hovering in front of her – pulsing with a calm blue light. She forces down a smile as she closes her eyes once more, repeating the same steps of concentration (and earning more fascinated bursts from Pidge and Coran). Light builds in front of her eyelids, and she opens them to find the entire rune circle was streaming with light. Now it was time for the final step. Leaning forward, she places her palms onto the circle. 

Then, she lets out a scream.

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.

.

Shiro hears the cry from the end of the hall, panic swelling in him. Pidge stumbles from the room as he races toward it, Coran limp across her back. They fall to the floor as the door closes and Pidge backs away till she reaches the wall. Breathing heavily, her face was as pale as the castleship’s hull.

“Pidge!” Shiro calls, putting his hands on the girl’s shoulders as he slides to a halt next to her. “What happened?”

“I… I don’t know,” she shakes, not taking her eyes off the door. “Something went wrong, Allura, she…”

“What’s going on?” Hunk calls as he runs up to them. He kneels beside Coran, placing a hand on the Altean’s back.

“Get them to the infirmary,” Shiro says. “I’ll check on Allura.”

“Sure,” Hunk nods, lifting Coran’s arm over his shoulders. “Leave it to me.”

“Wait,” Pidge calls. “Shiro—!”

He enters the room – and freezes in place by what he sees.

Face wide in a wordless scream, Allura _floats_ – hovering in the center of the room with energy cracking all around. It swirls in a circle just below her, sending streams of black lightning across the floor and walls. The color reminds Shiro of Haggar’s magic, but he pushes the thought down as he steps toward her, and calls out her name.

_“Allura!!”_

She doesn’t hear him.

Squinting against the wind and hot plasma spinning around the room, Shiro puts a foot forward, and another. Inching his way to her, he hears the faint sound of the door opening.

“Shiro!”

“Stay back, Keith!” Shiro shouts, looking over his shoulder where he and Lance had entered. “It’s too dangerous!”

Lightning carves across the room as he makes a straight path to the center, bending against the sheer energy in the air as he finally makes it to the circle. 

He calls again.

_“Allura!!”_

This time, she hears him. But when her head lowers to look him in the face, it is not her eyes he sees – but the empty sclera of the witch. The sight of it paralysis him in place, and she gazes upon him with a blank expression, raising a hand in his direction as she speaks in a voice that is not her own.

**_“Get out.”_ **

Shiro lifts his arms just as the energy arcs from her palm. But instead of dropping dead on the spot, Shiro grits his teeth as the power is concentrated into his right arm, the energy absorbing into it. The metal limb activates, glowing hot neon purple, and Shiro shakily lowers it to his side, keeping it stiff and pointed as he looks up to Allura. With his other hand, he reaches for the long hem of her dress. 

The sleeve of his shirt bursts apart as energy snakes around him. He pulls her down, and she snarls at him as her feet touch the floor, power streaming from her open hands. Shiro drives his face into her shoulders, his left arm tight around her back as the energy finds its way into his arm, shooting down into the floor. After a long, painful moment the power fades, and she drops from his grip as the crystals break against the floor. 

Shiro falls – his mind blank.

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Pidge enters the medbay again hours later as Shiro adjusts the bandage across his neck. She is silent for a moment, watching as he works unaware of her. A few moments pass before he finally looks to the door, stopping what he’s doing. His face waiting for answers.

Then, she says one thing.

“She’s awake.”

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.

.

The room is dark.

His shadow looms over the walls for two seconds as the door closes, and he crosses the room with soft steps. He stops a few paces from her, watching as she stares into her lap on the bed. Her long hair covers the frame of her face, but even with it there Shiro can see the streaks on her skin where tears fell moments before. She breathes in a sniffle, padding the rim of her eyes with her sleeve. She tries not to look at the bandages littered on his arm, or the sling across his chest.

“Is Coran alright?” 

“He’s fine,” Shiro replies, taking a step toward her. “He’s… still unconscious.”

Her hands tighten around the blanket.

“He told me it wasn’t a good idea,” she says, her voice barely above a whisper. “But I didn’t listen. Instead I—”

“It’s not your fault,” Shiro says firmly, taking a seat in front of her. She doesn’t look at his face, her hands twist the blanket over and over… 

“I felt _her_ , Shiro. That witch. I only discovered these powers after facing her, and now… now I’m afraid of what that could mean.” The twisting becomes rapid, until she finally squeezes it tight. “What if she reaches out again, what if I hurt someone, what I become _like her_ —”

“There’s no way that would happen,” he says.

She looks him in the face.

“How do you know?”

He doesn’t have an answer, but after a long moment of silence, he speaks.

“Do you trust me, Allura?”

More silence.

“Do you trust me?” he says again.

Her head leans.

“Of course—”

“—then trust me when I say there’s _no way_ that will happen.” He breathes, keeping his eyes locked on hers. “You are _not_ Haggar, and you’ll never be like her. You are going to use these powers, you’ll learn how to use them to help people, and planets and _galaxies_. You’ll grow _stronger_. And in the end, she’ll be the one fearing you.”

Allura’s eyes go wide for a moment, shocked by the honesty in his voice. Then, slowly, her face melts into a soft smile as a single tears runs down her cheek. She launches at him, wrapping her arms around his neck in a tight hug.

“Thank you,” she whispers softly, face buried into his clothes. “Thank you.”

Shiro smiles, and wraps his hand around her back. He doesn’t let go until she does.


End file.
